The new and old mesh together for the beginning of yet another aspect of the FC community as new families and returning campus families connect with one another through the New Family Dinner, Sept. 13. Children and parents alike gathered to John’s Incredible Pizza at 6 p.m. to share in a time of food, games and fellowship.

This event serves as a catalyst for interactions between host families and their matched newcomers. Each are provided with a payed-for unlimited buffet and 20-credit game cards.

The night began with an hour allotted to eat and interact with other families, which was followed by a short presentation given by Superintendent Debbie Siebert and Principal Todd Bennett. To finish the night, bunches of parents and students headed to the game area for continued fellowship.

The night, organized by the New Family Partnership (NFP), strove to connect each new family with a “host family” that has experience at FC. The event was considered successful by the NFP due to the increase in attendance compared to previous years.

Bennett appreciates the turnout of this third annual New Family Dinner. Bennett feels the goals of the night were reached along with additional aspects that were not planned on.

“The goal was to meet somebody new and form relationships,” Bennett said. “I think we accomplished this goal wonderfully. We didn’t want anybody to feel like an outsider. I think everyone felt like they belonged to the FC community by coming to this event.”

Member of the NFP, Hannah Serimian, mother of Emily Shakeshaft, ’14, remained enthusiastic throughout the night due to the high numbers of attendance. Serimian greatly appreciated the help she got from her fellow volunteer parents and student leadership, which made the night run smoothly.

“There was probably about 40 to 50 more people this year than the past two year,” Serimian said. “I think the new families saw our community in action with Student Leadership and current families of FC being involved. It was really nice to have help from fellow parents and the Student Leadership. It was a great night for fellowship, which was point of our event. It was great to see everyone connecting with each other.”

This year the experience from the last two years helped to create a more relaxing environment for all of the volunteers who helped run the event. Siebert was surprised and enjoyed seeing high schoolers attend the event, knowing it was most likely their choice to show up.

“This year was much better attendance,” Siebert said. “Also, everything felt much more relaxed this year. There was a lot more interaction with the new families and host families. I was pleasantly surprised to see high school students come because when you’re in elementary your parents make you go but for the high schoolers it’s typically their choice. It was nice to connect with new people and and old friends. I’m excited to see what next year brings us.”

For students especially, John’s Incredible served as a great location for the event. Sophomore Jariah Harris enjoyed her time spent at the dinner; meeting new people and eating great food. She appreciated the venue of the dinner thinking it was a great place for the new families and host families to convene.

“John’s Incredible was a great place to hold the event,” Harris said. “It’s nice that the venue was also geared towards kids; including games and rides. My host family wasn’t able to make it but I still met some other current families of FC who were very friendly.”

Students and parents both appreciated the event. For new foreign exchange student Kyong Sang (David) Ryu, he enjoyed his time at the event. Ryu connected with not only his host family but also many other existing families at the event.

“I just had a feeling that I should be there,” Ryu said. “I was invited to go and I met a lot of new people.”

For parents like Arlene Harris, mother of Jariah, ’15, seventh grader Jalen and sixth grader Marquis, she had nothing bad to say about the gathering. Although her host family could not appear at the occasion, she connected with many other new and current families of FC.

“We were invited to come tonight to be welcomed to the FC community,” Arlene said. “We had a wonderful time meeting new people and sharing new experiences. My host family could not be here but I met her earlier in the week. It was great to see my kids bonding with their friends. I would highly recommend this for new families because I had a wonderful time. I have no complaints about the event and I look forward to being able to help with this next year.”

For more features, read the Sept. 13 article Students, teacher observe cats for art class (VIDEO).